Posted on Monday, July 9th, 2018 at 6:50 am
After being injured in a car accident, there are many different forms of medical treatment that your doctor may prescribe. Of course, the first step is to perform the initial examination and listen to your symptoms. The doctor may then order one or more diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT scans, an MRI, and blood tests to confirm a diagnosis or obtain further information to make a diagnosis. Once your physician diagnoses your injuries, he can develop a treatment plan that gives you the best chance of recovery.
Depending on the types of injuries and the severity of your injuries, your doctor may prescribe one or more treatments including:
- Surgery
- Pain medication
- Prescription Medications
- Injections
- Physical Therapy
- Immobilization, like a neck or collar brace
- Vocational Therapy
- Chiropractic Care
- Rehabilitation Therapy
Depending on the type of injury you sustain, your doctor may recommend aqua therapy as a form of physical therapy.
What is Aquatic Therapy?
Aquatic therapy or aqua therapy is a type of physical therapy that is performed with the patient in the water. In most cases, a patient and the therapist perform exercises in a large pool. Water therapy can be extremely beneficial in some cases because the therapist can use the gentle and natural pressure created by water as part of the treatment plan.
For instance, a therapist may use one or more of the following types of aqua therapy during your sessions:
- Swimming
- Walking in the deep end of the pool
- Other walking exercises
- Exercises to improve breathing and balance
- Aquatic yoga
- Water-based motion exercise
- Exercises utilizing various tools in the water, such as compression vests, weights, balls, and flotation devices.
Some studies have been completed showing that water therapy can provide benefits and positive healing for some patients. Some of the benefits of aqua therapy can include:
- Improvement in core strength and endurance
- Reduction of pain
- Increased range of motion and muscle tone
- Improves flexibility and balance
- Reduction of tension in joints and muscles
- Decreased levels of discomfort during a therapy session
- Benefits for cardiovascular fitness
- Reduction of stress and anxiety
Aqua therapy may be a valid treatment for some car accident patients. However, the insurance company for the other driver may not agree.
Will the Insurance Company Pay for the Cost of Aquatic Therapy in the Car Accident Settlement?
If another party caused your car accident, California’s personal injury laws allow you to seek compensation for your damages, including reasonable and necessary medical care. Once the biggest hurdle is passed, proving that the other party caused the crash and you were injured in the crash, the matter should be simple, but that is not often the case.
Insurance companies are not very fond of paying large settlement payments. Therefore, even though a company may know that it is liable for your damages, it will continue to search for ways to pay less than the claim is worth. One way to decrease the value of a claim is to challenge medical treatments.
Because aqua therapy may not be a common, mainstream form of physical therapy used after a car accident, it does not mean that the therapy is not reasonable and necessary. However, the insurance company may disagree. However, simply because the company agrees does not mean our Sacramento car accident attorneys give up.
We work closely with your doctor and the physical therapist to gather information about the therapy, including why the doctor prescribed the therapy and the success of the therapy. Therefore, our attorneys understand how to use this evidence to present a strong and convincing argument for including the cost of various therapies in the settlement amount.
Contact Our Sacramento Car Accident Attorney for a Free Case Review
Contact The Tiemann Law Firm for your free consultation by calling (916) 999-9000 or by visiting our website.
